Exactly millenium ago, in 1010, the overwhelming majority of the population of Naddnepryanshchina converted to Islam... Traces of berbers are found across the whole Ukraine... From folklore, Caliph Garun al-Rashid is known under the name of Snake (Zmey) Gorynych...
Last year the professor of the Kiev National University of T.Shevchenko Konstantin Tishchenko shared with UNIAN results of unique research. Studying of toponyms (names of settlements, rivers, mountains) of Europe, the scholar challenged an issue of the Arabian influence on our ancestors. At first under place names he traced movement of the Iranian fire-worshippers – Zoroastrians, across the Central and Eastern Europe from the south to the north. Muslims pursued them and thus brought with themselves Islam. The professor also stated a hypothesis about the origin of the ancient name of our country – Rus.
Konstantin Tishchenko shares with us fresh discoveries.
- Konstantin Nikolaevich, you assume that the name Rus may have the Arabian roots: from the capital of the Caliphate of the first half of the eighth century - Rusayfa...
- According to the accepted explanation of the ethonim Rus, it stems from the Finnish name of Sweden "Ruotsi" and at first specified the Varangians. This common truth was proved by Yemelyan Partitsky in his book "Skandinavia in ancient Rus" (1886), - to this work is dedicated the article in the collection "Stogolosnik" № 3 - 4 for 2000. The book of Partitsky was annihilated by security officers in Galicia, but in 60 years even patriotically adjusted Russian historians were compelled to accept this explanation (see "Ancient Rus in the light of foreign sources", Moscow, 2003).
And here it appears that this truth is not definitive. After all in toponymy of Germany there is a number of names of villages from the stem Russ - which "are not connected" with the history of the Kiev Rus in case of its origin with ethnonym of the Varangians. In the Middle Ages no any regiments of Rus did not come to tens of places in Germany or Austria. These villages also could not be named in honour of captured from Rus: the close Slavs sufficed the Germans. For this reason those Russdorfs and Russfelds still require realistic explanations. And on a number of possible prototypes for them it is impossible to bypass capital names of the Caliphate of the Caliph Gisham (724 - 743 years) - Rusayfa. The matter is that in Germany there is an ancient Arabian trace: for example, the region of Munich with the name of... Allah! Or the village under Schwerin - Musselmof. Henceforth, the attraction of Rusayfa to explanation of those Russdorfs is scientifically motivated.
Now about the name of Rusayfa. It really left a trace on the whole way on which moved participants of jihad from the Middle East to Central and Eastern Europe... Rusayfa is known in Europe as Rusafa, it is located near to the modern capital of Jordan, Amman. By this prestigious name of the capital of the Caliphate in the same VIII century are named also the Islamic military monastery of Russafa in Egypt, and a fortess-city in the modern Albania - Rosafa (modern Shkoder). From the Balkans Islam carriers moved on the east - on the territory of modern Ukraine and further. To it, in particular, can testify on Volyn - the village of Rusovichi, in Vinnitsa area - the river and three villages with the name of Rusava, in the Kiev region - also villages and rivers of Rosava, Rasava, two Rasavkas. Opponents persistently repeat that it is just a casual similarity. The casual similatity, which three times repeated in different areas of Ukraine? It is a naive thought. Moreover, nearby to each of these three groups on the map is named the same Caliph who transferred the capital from Damascus to Rusafa - on Volhynia in the name of the village of Gishin, over the Dnepr - Gayshin, on Podolia - Gaysin. All that is him, the Caliph Gisham.
Those who wait for a map of full coincidence of toponims with the name of the Caliph, should better leave this reading and remain with habitual school concepts about history...
The fortess of Rosafa in the city of Shkoder (Albania) in the beginning of Moorish way.
- You said that pursuing Iranian Zoroastrians, Muslims simultaneously brought with themselves Islam. Why they could not spread Islam on the population of Pridneprovye?
- No, they could do it... Exactly one millenium ago, in 1010, the overwhelming majority of the population of Pridneprovye, which consisted from the Turkic Pechenegs, converted to Islam (interestingly that the modern science with claims for objectivity eloquently did not notice this date). By the calculation of Yemelyan Pritsak, then there were about three millions of Pechenegs... As to the Slavs, which made about some tens thousand they did not convert to the faith of Magomet, as they were already familiar with various trends of Christianity - long before the prince Vladimir.
The mass facts of villages in Ukraine, already Christian at the moment of jihad, that is in the VIII century, are testified in Ukraine as well in the names of the Arabian origin, for example Zalibovka (the Rovno region), Zalipye (the Frankovsk region), Salivonki, Saliv (the Kiev region), Zalevki (the Cherkassy region), Slabunovoe (the Khmelnitskiy region), etc. - in all these stems is recognised the Arabian word "salib" - a cross. And the next villages point at the Arabs: next to Zalibovka - Rohmaniv under Shumsky (from the Arabian word "Rahman" - "Merciful", the name of God), next to Zalevky - Sunki (the followers of Sunna, Sunnis), Buzukov (the Berber for "buzu" - the servant), etc.
The Pechenegs occupied 90 % of the lands of the present Ukraine: figures 1-8 correspond to the provinces of Pachinakii (see Konstantin Bagryanorodniy). Area of contacts of the Pechenegs and the Francs according to toponymics is surrounded by a dotted oval. The map basis contains a rare example of the least ideologized images of southern border of the Kiev Rus. The present border (on Stugna, Trubezhu, Ostru, Seymu) is shown by a dotted line.
- And where there was the state of the Pechenegs?
- It occupied a huge territory along the Dnepr to the south of Kiev. At the moment of converting to Islam the border passed accross the river Stugna (Vasylkov), further - accross the Trubezh, Oster, Seym. That is, the Pechenegs supervised 90 % of the lands of the present Ukraine. From the book of the Byzantian emperor Konstantin Bagryanorodniy we also know that the name of this country was Pachinakiya.
According to academician Yemelyan Pritsak, more than a half from forty Pecheneg barrows were situated over the Rosava river. In documents of Lithuanian time here is also recollected the wood of Pechenizhets. Somewhere in these lands there should be the capital of the Country of the Pechenegs, to which the holy Bruno (the European missionary of the times of the prince Vladimir) arrived from Stugny on foot for three days (it is described in his own letter of 1008 which ancient copies are preserved until now).
The ruling clique of the Pechenegs was called "kangar". In that case the typical Turkic toponymic model of the name of settlement with an adjective suffix - whether it should be "Kangarly" (Kangarskoye), and with a suffix of district "lyk" - "Kangarlyk" ("a place of kangars"). On inflow of Rosava Rosavtsa there is a direct and unique candidate on a capital of Pachinakiya, the city of Kagarlyk. Thanks to the Dictionary of hydronyms of Ukraine we can learn that the old name of the river Rossavka is Rosava! Moreover, in Iran in steppe beside the lake Urmia there is an aul of Kangarlu, and in 4 km from it is an aul of Youshanlu in which name you learn a word evshan from our annals (record of 1201)! Except the Ukrainians, noone among Slavs mentions this word, but at all Turkis it means "wormwood"... This is an example of action of a method of a toponymic context: the next names thematically and spiritually support each other.
- Whether on the territory of Ukraine there were settlements of the Arabs?
- I think, yes, there were. Otherwise, how to explain numerous villages with the names of Arabika (Zaporozhye area), Arapovka (Lugansk area), Arapovichi (Chernigov area), Voropai, Gorobievka, Vorobevka, etc.? And there are so many surnames from this root! As I already told you, the name of a sparrow birdie (orobye, orobets, vorobey - Rus, Ukr.) can be connected with a name of these people. For its character, as it understood our ancestors...
It is interesting that Ukrainian Kolomyya from which stems "kolomiyky" is of the Arabian origin, too. "Kalam" - the Arabic word for "percept, the word of God", "kalamy" -a man who preaches Muslim dogmas. From the same word - ten villages Kolomievka, Kolomyychiha, Kolome, Kolomak, etc. A number of villages named Kolomiytsevo exist also in Russia.
- In Greece there are a lot of villages with the name of Kalamaky, too...
- Certainly, Arabs left there a trace even more deeply, than in Ukraine. From the materials on genetics exposed on the Internet (in particular from the works of Rosser) it is noticable that on genetic structure present Greeks are on a quarter Arabs and on a quarter - Berbers. This component is also similar for us, though it makes only 8 %. It is so according to Rosser and his sixty co-authors... You may find interesting their publication from 2000 year: "Y-Chromosomal Diversity in Europe is Clinal and Influenced Primarily by Geography, Rather then by Language" (Am. J. Hum. Genet, 2000, vol. 67: 1526-1543). It is important that here is also present the Moorish trace, what means that it is also assured at the genetic level, too.
- And what the Arabs were engaged here with, except pursuing "unbelievers" - fire-worshippers. Sowed corn, planted cattle, fused metal?
- According to our investigations, they created the weapon - is there any jihad without a good weapon? And, of course, they sold it to the neighbours. Art of manufacturing of weapon from the metal extracted from marsh ore, the Arabs, apparently, borrowed at Germens-karolings. From this stem names of villages where these masters forged swords, - Korlyagi, Haralug (the ancient name - Harolug). And swords were called - "haraluzhny". They also produced chain armours and other military ammunition.
It is significant that from eight tribes of the pechenegs one was called Hubashin-Dula "forged" (from Iranian"cub-idan" - to "forge"; compare: Kubachi - the well-known aul of smiths and armourers in Dagestan), and another - Kuartsitsur (from Mongolian "khortchy" - "armour-clad warrior"). It is not excluded that the last word of the same root, as the known name of the island of Hortitsa (pay attention, with analogues in steppes beside Orenburg, Omsk and on Altay).
- So, the people of Ros, Rus were originally named Arabs?
- I would tell more widely - participants of jihad who moved from the Balkans on the East... In the proper names there were many testifications of this movement. The aggressive Caliph in Rusayfa bore a name of Gisham. Another - also very aggressive Caliph was named Garun. It is already stated about the "trace" of Gisham in the names of Gaysin, Gishin, Gayshin. The name of Garun is also immortalised in the names of the villages of Gorun (now Goron), the Lvov region, two Goryngrads on the river of Goryn, Gorenichi, Gorenka, Gorincheva. This stem is also present among surnames of Ukrainians (Garun). And in 4 km from Goryngrad, imagine, there is a village of Barmaki! This neighbourhood became fatal for the whole stage of studios, after all people from a clan of Barmakids were viziers of Garun...
According to the folklore, the Caliph Garun al-Rashid is know under the name of Zmey (Snake) Gorynych. Ethnic memory connects with it (actually much more ancient by age) Zmievy shaft of the defensive destination which rests are found across the whole Central Ukraine.
- According to your researches, the Arabs came to us from the West. Was it not closer for them to come from the East?
- The way through Caucasus was then closed for them. They could not make their way neither through Byzantium, nor through Hozariya with which they were constantly at war.
Structure of some ethnoses of Europe on Y-gaplogroups: share E1b1b ("the Berber marker") - brown colour, J2 ("the Bedouin marker") - black colour; other galogroups specify "pra-Celts" (green), "pra-Hollandians" (blue), "pra-Skyths, pra-Arians" (orange); details see here.
Though it is paradoxical, but the Arabian East came to us from the West - historians know about the so-called Moravian way. It is not not else than "the Moorish way": the whole Europe called Arabs - the Moors. This word safely lives in the name of the whole historical area of the Czeck Republic - Moravia, in names of the rivers of Morava (in Serbia), Muresh (Romania), Moore (Austria and Slovenia), probably, as in the Shevchenkovsky village Morintsy. It is indicative that from all Slavs in the population of the Czeck Republic and Serbia Y-gaplogroups E1b1b and J2, connected with the Berbers and the Arabs, make more than 20 % (and among our neighbours - Romanians - even third), at the Slovaks - already only 15 %, and in Ukraine as it was stated before - 8 %.
From the 720th the Albanian Rosafa (Shkoder) became a starting point of the Moravian corridor to Slavs from the whole Arabian Mediterranean coast. A dotted line at the left - the western border of distribution of the Slavs and the Eastern nomads in the VIII century. To zoom the map press here.
By the way, the word "root" ("shlyah" in Ukrainian, - translator's note) - is probably, of the Arabic origin, instead of the German as they are used to consider. Among the meanings of the German word Schlag there is no that which would designate a road. And the roots were not roads in the modern sense: even during the Cossack time "root" meant a direction, moving on which, it was possible to reach to this or that place. It is a primary word meaning. And in Arabic "selyah" means "recommended, the best"... Also pay attention to names of those ways - Muravsky, Shpakov, Kusmansky (so, thanks the subjected to repression Pavel Klepatskiy for the certificate in protection of this form during the Lithuanian times). And all this is a trace from uninvited visitors from the East: the Almoravids, the Caliph Usman, other Eastern armed groups (from the Pehlevian spah - "an army"). Here are starlings... And, at last, the Milky Way. It got its name not from the Chumaks, vice versa - the Chumaks were named so from the name of the way, for it is more ancient, than them. After all other name of the Milky Way is Crimean, and its branches - Romodanovsky. It appears, three times they speak all about the same: a way where? To Crimea. There you find Ramadan (a Muslim fast), there is Juma (Friday, a mosque). The Ukrainian professor, the Turkologist Bushakov in his etymological dictionary "Lexical structure of historical toponymics of Crimea" (Kiev, 2003) has shown that "Chumak", i.e. "the one who observes Friday, visits a mosque" is the name of a Muslim by the Turki-non-Muslim (for example, the Gagauz). You go to Crimea? So they will call you "the Crimean", "the one who observes Ramadan", "Chumak" - even if you are not a Muslim and you go just to but some salt.
- And where the Muravsky way was stretched?
- Its sites with such a name are fixed in the south and the east of Ukraine, and further they go on the north and rest, imagine, in Moscow...
In the XI century the Maghrib theologian Ibn Yasin became the ideologist of jihad. Under his sanction for Islam statement in the neighbouring earths, in particular in Gabon, was founded the first ribat - a military monastery "for multiplication of the believers in the boundary lands". It was based by the Berber tribes from Morocco -Almuravids (al-mu-rabitun - "those, who come from ribat"). From these almoravids stems the name "Moors" and all those of Moravia on their way.
Ribat entitled many cities and villages which are often close to the settlements named in honour of Ibn Yasin. In the Czech Republic in different regions there are pairs - Rapotin and Yesenets, Rapotitse and Yesenitse, Lgota-rapotina and Yasinov, Ribitvi and Yesenchany. In Germany - Rabats - Jessnits. In Bosnia and Herzegovina - Ripach and Yasenitsa. This "pair" is also present in Ukraine - Ryboten and Yasenovo (the Sumy area), Ropcha and Yaseny (Bukovina).
And in Moscow it is Arbat, and there is also Yasenevo.
There is a mathematical formula and the computer program on its basis (developers are Suhoy, Zaytsev) according to which it is impossible to explain such a quantity of the neighbourhood of identical pairs of the toponymic stems as an accident: it is only a consequence of historical events...
And they are not "focuses with names". The toponymics is a special language of history. From tens thousand words in the dictionary, with the spatial syntax on a map. And it needs to be studied, as any other language. And everyone who is capable of such a strong-willed effort can at least check up these neighbourhoods. The antecedents reflected in these dear names are not so rectilinear, as "the way of Arians".
- And what was the role of Albania in "Arabization" of Ukraine?
- Albania was a really important point on the Moravian way. As I said, in the ancient time the fortified city of Shkoder in this country was called in honour of the capital of the Caliphate - Rosafa. It in Turkish - Al-Iskanderiya. Later the name was simplifized to Shkoder, Skutari. This name together with carriers extended on the whole region.
Al-Iskanderiya (literally, "Aleksandrova") "is duplicated" in topinims which at first were really connected with the name of Alexander the Great - a number of Alexandrias in Asia and a glorious Alexandria Egyptian. Through its direct communications with Albanian Rosafa, the Turks called the last Al-Iskanderia, too.
In Ukraine, in the Kiev region, there are nearby two villages - Shandra and Makedony (Mironovsky area). The first temptation is to explain this neighbourhood by the name of Alexander the Great. But they hardly have any relation to the great commander. Because of the neighbourhood with them of two toponims (village and the river of Rosava) all toponymic landscape "Shandra - Makedony - Rosava" looks next (already triple) carrying over of the topolandscape from the Balkans (Al-Iskanderia, or Rosafa located close to Macedonia, in which Al-Iskanderia in itself is the secondary name in relation to Alexandria Egyptian, and Rosafa - same in relation to Rusafa / Rusayfa.
- Everything is so intertwined that it is difficult to understand... And what, actually, trace in the form of the names transferred from the Balkans was left by Albanians in Ukraine?
- For example, Dymer - from the Albanian for "winter" that could mean a wintering place. Kopistintsy - from "kopesht", "the processed lans". Names of villages like Sheptichi, Shchepilovka, Pereshchepino stem from the self-name of the Albanians (the Shkipers). Surnames of Shkurat, Skurativsky - from the Albanian word "shkurt" - "strong".
- So, Islam was brought here by Arabs and Albanians?
- The different people who were under the power of the Caliph. Including those occupying the North Africa. There were here even the Berbers - distant relatives of the Arabs...
For more than hundred years, since 800 to 903 year, on the territory of modern Algeria and Tunisia ruled a dynasty of Aglabids with the capital in Keyravan. In Ukraine people from those lands left villages with the names of Globa, Goloby (the Poltava area), or three villages named Caravan in the Kharkov area. The same as in other places: for example, in Serbia there is a village of Globovitsa, and the part of the Alpes in Austria and Slovenia is called Karavanken. The surname Globa is also connected with Aglabids.
Algabids during their times possessed the island of Sicily - in Arabic, Sekellia. By it is explained the considerable quantity of the Ukrainian villages Sokol, Sokoly and an etremely close to the Arabian prototype name of Sokoliy (the Chernovetsky area), - all of them are rethought by the Slavs in their own way.
The Algerian cities of Setif, Jemila, Kestantina (the Roman colonies) have something in common with the Ukrainian villages Sytyhov (the Lvov area), Jemilnoe (the Lugansk area), Emilchino (the Zhytomyr area), numerous Konstantinovkas. Algeria (in Arabic - Al-Jazair, that is "islands") is presented in Ukraine, obviously, by translation conformity, and it explains why villages with the name Ostrov (island) are often far away from the rivers (but in the environment of names from the Arabian roots. From the Algerian city of Jejeli stem the Ukrainian surnames Jejeliy, Jejula, the stem of the city of Mostaganem is noticeable in the river of Stugna and a surname of Stogny.
Berber traditions and language up to nowadays are preserved by the population of one of historical areas of Algeria - Kabiliya. From this Kabilia stem numerous Ukrainian names with the root of "kobyl" adapted in national etymology, including Kobelaki. On the Tuarez language "buzu" is a servant: a probable prototype of names like Buzova, Buzovik, Baybuzy: there each time in vicinities are present additional signs of the Berber trace (for example, near Kiev - Yasnogorodka, Negrashi, Chernogorodka, Synyak, Dymer, Gorbovichi).
- And except "toponymic" indications, are there any proofs of stay of the Moors in Ukraine?
- First of all they ar finds of the Arabian coins of the VIII century, which are rather numerous in Ukraine. For example, a well-known by a number of publications of Gudima a treasure from village Osipovka in the Lvov region, found in 1986! Slavish position of a society is shown, in particular, in prosperity of black archeology - now and then. From invaluable treasure for history in 14 thousand (!) coins in Moscow and Kiev appeared to be more than 13 thousand dirgems (it is not known at whom). Thirty of them are even in Warsaw. Pity remains stay a place. In the state museum weer transferred about 100 coins, that is less than 1 % of treasure...
We and the Arabian world have certain analogies in material culture, too. So, the Berbers untill now wear a long cape with a hood which is very similar to Ukrainian ... loose overall ("kobenyak"). Is it called so casually? This name may stem from Kabiliya, too.
The general self-name of the North African tribes of the Tuaregs - Imadzigon - found reflexion in the Ukrainian surnames of Madzigon, Makogon and in a word "to shave" - "obmakogonit'" (for the climatic reasons the Berbers by tradition shave their heads, recollect a football player Zinedine Zidane).
- And where these Berbers disapperared? They were completely dissolved among the Ukrainians? And for how long they were here?
- Berbers is in Arabic, and in Greek way they are barbarians (literally, stutterers). Their etonym, probably, untill now lives in tens our Verbivkas and Varvarovkas. It was a mass movement, expansion of the Arabs and the Berbers was purposeful and proceeded for almost five centuries...
It was stopped by invasion of the Tataro-Mongols in the XIII century. The horde physically destroyed for armed resistance the Polovian men - carriers of Islam of a different ethnic accessory - andsold their families in slavery (read books of Pletneva about the Polovians). It is interesting that, according to historians, they were bought by merchants from Syria and Egypt. Their further destiny is the history Egyptian Mamluks, ex-Polovians. Though it is paradoxical, but if there were no the Tataro-Mongolian invasion, Islam could be rooted over the Dnepr. Mongols well realised, how saturates disobedience of the won: they calmed down only when they destroyed Bagdad and executed the last Caliph in 1258 (it was in 18 years after capture of Kiev).
The Arabs and their allies, the Pechenegs and the Polovians left numerous names on our land, and, as it considered academician Pritsak, played a certain role in formation of the Ukrainian ethnos.
By UNIAN
Related Links:
Numerous Geographical Names in Ukraine Testify to Long Arabian Presence
